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INTERVIEW
With
CHARLES 1. CROWLEY
October 5, 1983
This is Anna Zellick. Today is October 5, 1983. I'm sitting here in my home at 721
West Spring St. visiting with Mr. Charles Crowley who was born here in Lewistown 83
years ago. He is the son of Dan Crowley who came here in 1879 with his brother, John.
In visiting with John McMillan one time Charles was told that his father Dan Crowley
was either the first or the second to file on a homestead in Central Montana. Is that OK?
CROWLEY: Yes, that is what he said.
ZELLICK: In other words, the Crowleys have been here a long time. Where were the
Crowley homesteads located?
CROWLEY: That was when we were a part of Meagher County. One of the homesteads
was located just below the Great Northern Depot. The other was a part of the
fairgrounds.
ZELLICK: I see. Did they homestead and live on them for a long period of time?
CROWLEY: Dad lived in town up until he died. We sold it in 1960, I believe.
ZELLICK: To whom did you sell it?
CROWLEY: To George Machler.

INTERVIEW
With
CHARLES J. CROWLEY
October 5, 1983
This is Anna Zellick. Today is October 5, 1983. I’m sitting here in my home at 721
West Spring St. visiting with Mr. Charles Crowley who was born here in Lewistown 83
years ago. He is the son of Dan Crowley who came here in 1879 with his brother, John.
In visiting with John McMillan one time Charles was told that his father Dan Crowley
was either the first or the second to file on a homestead in Central Montana. Is that OK?
CROWLEY: Yes, that is what he said.
ZELLICK: In other words, the Crowleys have been here a long time. Where were the
Crowley homesteads located?
CROWLEY: That was when we were a part of Meagher County. One of the homesteads
was located just below the Great Northern Depot. The other was a part of the
fairgrounds.
ZELLICK: I see. Did they homestead and live on them for a long period og time?
CROWLEY: Dad lived in town up until he died. We sold it in 1960, I believe.
ZELLICK: To whom did you sell it?
CROWLEY: To George Machler.
Crowley Interview
2
ZELLICK: To George Machler! You had it in your possession from 1879 to 1960. Isn’t
that interesting? Did your father and uncle ever mention the Metis and the French
Canadians who came the same year, 1879?
CROWLEY: They came here ahead of my dad, before. I got this from my grandfather.
ZELLICK: Who was your grandfather?
CROWLEY: John Glancy. I heard him tell this story. He was in the Army. He was at
Keogh at Miles.
ZELLICK: Miles City.
CROWLEY: They rounded up these Breeds up along the line ( Hi-Line ). They had
been traveling back and forth from Canada trading back and for the with the Indians up
there. They ( Army ) rounded them up and gave them their choice. Either they had to go
across the line and stay in Canada or they could come to this side and stay in the United
States, but they couldn’t go back and forth. That’s when lot of the Breeds came into this
country.
ZELLICK: I see. Did Crowleys, Dan and John, know many of these “Breeds”
personally?
CROWLEY: Oh, Yes, they knew them all.
Crowley Interview
3
ZELLICK: Did they know anyone in particular?
CROWLEY: They knew Janeaux. They knew quite a few of the Janeauxs, the Swans,
Ouellettes, Wells. I went to school with a lot of them.
ZELLICK: Did you. Where did you go to school?
CROWLEY: Over at the old Sister’s School.
ZELLICK: The Metis went to school there also?
CROWLEY: Lot of them.
ZELLICK: Did you ever attend the public school system?
CROWLEY: For a little bit. Down at the Hawthorne School.
ZELLICK: Did any of the Metis attend the Hawthorne School?
CROWLEY: I don’t remember. They probably did because there were quite a few of
them round here at that time.
ZELLICK: Well, so your people came here before the town really was built.
CROWLEY: Old Janeaux had a trading post about where Anthony’s is now, I think. He
sold my dad a lot for $5 and gave him a lot if he would build on it. That’s where
Crowley Interview
4
Penney’s is now.
ZELLICK: Oh, he gave a lot.
CROWLEY: He sold him a lot for $5 and gave him another lot if he would build on it.
He built a livery stable and a saloon on it.
ZELLICK: On that spot where the J. C. Penney is now, Dan Crowley built a livery stable
and a saloon. He was invited to do this by Janeaux. Right?
CROWLEY: Yes. He sold one lot and made a deal with my father if he would build on
it.
ZELLICK: How long was the livery stable and saloon in use?
CROWLEY: I think they were torn about 1912. And the Crowley Block was built
around 1912 or 1913.
ZELLICK: What relation was Annie Crowley to you?
CROWLEY: My mother.
ZELLICK: Oh, was Annie Crowley your mother? Is that right? Well, tell me a little bit
about your mother. Why was she interested in building a lovely building on that spot?
CROWLEY: You mean the Crowley Block?
Crowley Interview
5
ZELLICK: Yes.
CROWLEY: Well, she had that property, and then it was getting to where it wasn’t
worth anything as far as income was concerned. Livery stables were going out. She
made a deal with E.C. Sweitzer. She had it rented to him before she ever built the
building. He was to move into it.
ZELLICK: To E. C. Sweitzer, a merchant. She must have known him well. Was he
already here in town?
CROWLEY: He had a store down the street just below the Judith Theatre somewhere in
that block.
ZELLICK: I see. That’s why she then went ahead and made plans to have a beautiful
building built. She hired Otto F. Wasmansdorff and George Eastman.
CROWLEY: As architects.
ZELLICK: DID YOU know those two fellows?
CROWLEY: I know who they were, but I was just a kid when they were around here.
ZELLICK: Would you have any idea why she selected them?
Crowley Interview
Crowley Interview
6
CROWLEY: I think that they were the only ones here in town.
ZELLICK: There were Link and Haire. They came in and out of town because they did
other buildings.
CROWLEY: Afterwards, I think. Maybe they were around town at that time. I
wouldn’t say for sure. But Wasmansdorff and Eastman had been in town for quite awhile
and been in business and been here. So she probably hired them on account of that.
ZELLICK: Now, we have established the fact that Annie Crowley was your mother, and
she made an arrangement with E. C. Sweitzer who was to have the street floor in the new
Crowley Building for his store. What did your mother intend for the second floor of that
building?
CROWELY: It was supposed to be an office rental kind of deal. There were several
offices up there at that time that I know of.
ZELLICK: Whose offices were they?
CROWLEY: Long, the dentist. E. A. Long and his brother were up there. Then there
was an attorney by the name of Smith. I forget what his first name was. He was up there
for quite a little while. Then a Mrs. MacDowell had it rented for a good many years.
ZELLICK: There was also a rooming house up there? In conjunction with the offices?
Crowley Interview
7
CROWLEY: In conjunction with the offices.
ZELLICK: A Mrs. MacDowell ran it. What was the name of the rooming house?
CROWLEY: I don’t know what they called it. And I’ve been up there, too.
ZELLICK: This building then brought in quite a bit of revenue to your mother, didn’t it?
CROWLEY: It paid off pretty good for the times.
ZELLICK: It held up pretty well. Then when did she sell it?
CROWLEY: I think she sold it around 1929 or 1930.
ZELLICK: To whom did she sell it?
CROWLEY: To Joe Alweis.
ZELLICK: Would you have any idea how much he may have paid her for it?
CROWLEY: I think it was in the neighborhood of $60,000.
ZELLICK: In other words, she sold it for a $10,000 profit in the period of time that she
had it in her possession. Where was the brick from? Is that from Lewistown?
CROWLEY: I don’t know where it was from. I know that the local brick plant put out a
lot of brick around here. Whether it was from there or not, I don’t know.
Crowley Interview
8
ZELLICK: What ever happened to the plans of the building? Do you happen to know
what happened to the plans?
CROWLEY: No, I don’t.
ZELLICK: Did the architect keep the plans or did he give them to your mother? Your
mother, in addition to the Crowley Building where the Penney store is now, also had a
beautiful home, back of the Jr. High, didn’t she?
CROWLEY: Yes. It was catty-corner form the courthouse.
ZELLICK: Can you tell me anything about that house?
CROWLDY: I think we moved into it about 1911.
ZELLICK: Who built that house?
CROWLEY: Jim Kane.
ZELLICK: Was he a contractor?
CROWLEY: He was a contractor and a carpenter.
ZELLICK: What do you know about Mr. Kane?
CROWLEY: Well, he was an old timer, and he lived there where Cloyd’s Funeral Home
Crowley Interview
9
is. There was a house there. He had a whole half block there. He lived there for years,
and he had a carpenter shop in back pf where the post office is now, over on Washington
St.
ZELLICK: Was he considered a leading carpenter at that time?
CROWLEY: He was a good carpenter.
ZELLICK: What years was he in operation here in Lewistown?
CROWLEY: He was an old timer. He was around here for a good many years.
ZELLICK: How old was he when he built your mother’s house?
CROWLEY: He was in his fifties. I don’t know when he died.
ZELLICK: How did he pick up his training? On the job? Or did he go to school? Do
you know?
CROWLEY: I don’t know. He came here in the early days. He came here before the
railroad, if I’m not mistaken. He had kids here who were older than I am.
ZELLICK: That house he built for your mother, did he plan it or did an architect plan it?
CROWLEY: I think Wasmansdorff and Eastman made the plan. Kane followed the
plan.
Crowley Interview
10
ZELLICK: Where did the lumber come from?
CROWLEY: Most of it was bought at the Montana Lumber Co. I think most of it was
shipped in from the Coast.
ZELLICK: When did you say the house was built?
CROWLEY: About 1911.
ZELLICK: It was built before the Crowley Block Building. Where did your mother get
the windows for that house? They are curved windows.
CROWLEY: I don’t know. I don’t know where they came from. They were put in by
the contractor, and the architect.
ZELLICK: Did you enjoy living in that house?
CROWLEY: It was a good house. It was well built. It took less coal to heat that house than pretty any other house in the neighborhood.
ZELLICK: Really, what was so especially solid about that house?
CROWLEY: In those days before insulation, they used to use that back plaster. They
would make an air space. It had plaster with air space.
ZELLICK: It was made with air space between the outer and the inner wall. That was
Crowley Interview
11
not a usual practice in those days.
CROWLEY: No.
ZELLICK: Who thought about the air space? Kane, the contractor?
CROWLEY: I think the architect did.
ZELLICK: How big is that space?
CROWLEY: Now, I couldn’t tell you, how it is or how they worked it. But they called it
the “back plaster” job.
ZELLICK: “B A C K P L A S T E R”.
CROWLEY: They left an air space in there for insulation.
ZELLICK: What else is there that is interesting about that house? It has three stories.
Did you mother have a maid to help her?
CROWLEY: Most of the time.
ZELLICK: Where did the maid live? Did she have special quarters?
CROWLEY: Yes, she had a room upstairs.
ZELLICK: On the third floor?
Crowley Interview
12
CROWLEY: There were three bedrooms up on that third floor.
ZELLICK: I see. Who were some of your maids, do you remember?
CROWLEY: Oh, I don’t know. There was Anna Yusta. She married a barber who used
to be down there on East Main. I forget what his name was. There was a White girl. She
come from Great Falls. She was up there for three for four years.
ZELLICK: What else was there that was unusual and nice about that house? Did it have
electricity when it was built?
CROWLEY: Oh, yes.
ZELLICK: It had bathrooms.
CROWLEY: Yes. It was a modern house as far as that goes. It had plumbing. It was all
in order then. It had running water. She bought that block up there, a little more than a
block. The D’Autremont house was built on it. I don’t know who built the house in
between. Royce’s, who owned the Argus, lived in there quite awhile. Right back of us a
family by the name of Lovland lived in it. Then Replogle, then Dahl’s. He used to be a
shoemaker. Then there was Bill Schmidlapp of the Montana Power.
ZELLICK: All that land belonged to your mother?
Crowley Interview
13
CROWLEY: Yes. There was the Ed. Roehl house.
ZELLICK: Then she sold that land.
CROWLEY: She sold those lots off.
ZELLICK: I see. From whom did she buy the land originally?
CROWLEY: From Wiedeman.
ZELLICK: From George Wiedeman, I see.
CROWLEY: Then there were three other houses. On Ninth Avenue where Scheidts
used to be. There were three houses along there that went with it, up to the railroad ----
ZELLICK: Would you have any way of knowing if architects were hired to plan those
houses just mentioned that were built after your mother’s. Scmidlapp’s, Scheidts, and so
on.
CROWLEY: I don’t know. The architects at that time did a pretty good business at
designing these houses, writing up these specifications and so on.
ZELLICK: In other words, architects were pretty common here in Lewistown, were
they?
CROWLEY: Yes. That Eastman they did quite a lot of work here.
Crowley Interview
14
ZELLICK: But you don’t know anything about them. Who was Eastman?
CROWLEY: I know who he was. I know his sister who roomed up at my mother’s. She
worked down at the post office.
ZELLICK: Who was his sister?
CROWLEY: I forget her first name. She worked in the post office and retired from there
years and years ago. She had quite a time in getting her retirement. ------and was in bad
shape. She got a leave of absence, a sick leave. She had to put in so much time.
Chauncey Fowler was the postmaster at the time. They put her behind the general
delivery window. Chauncey Fowler used to take her place when she was sick until she
put her time in. He couldn’t have been any nicer or better than he was.

INTERVIEW
With
CHARLES 1. CROWLEY
October 5, 1983
This is Anna Zellick. Today is October 5, 1983. I'm sitting here in my home at 721
West Spring St. visiting with Mr. Charles Crowley who was born here in Lewistown 83
years ago. He is the son of Dan Crowley who came here in 1879 with his brother, John.
In visiting with John McMillan one time Charles was told that his father Dan Crowley
was either the first or the second to file on a homestead in Central Montana. Is that OK?
CROWLEY: Yes, that is what he said.
ZELLICK: In other words, the Crowleys have been here a long time. Where were the
Crowley homesteads located?
CROWLEY: That was when we were a part of Meagher County. One of the homesteads
was located just below the Great Northern Depot. The other was a part of the
fairgrounds.
ZELLICK: I see. Did they homestead and live on them for a long period of time?
CROWLEY: Dad lived in town up until he died. We sold it in 1960, I believe.
ZELLICK: To whom did you sell it?
CROWLEY: To George Machler.